


What Could Have Been

by NZFandomPrincess96



Category: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
Genre: AU ending, Scars, Violence, actors are doctors, actors are patients
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-13 07:45:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18936508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NZFandomPrincess96/pseuds/NZFandomPrincess96
Summary: So, a friend and I worked together on this. When Bruno and Shmuel are about to face their death in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, Ralf arrives in time. He rescues both of them, and the family adopt Shmuel unofficially. However, Bruno is worried. Someone from his past has sworn to get their hands on him.... Very OOC father, who normally wouldn't bat an eyelid at killing a nine year old Jewish child.





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ralf was running around "Outwith" (Auschwitz) searching for his only son Bruno. Since his wife had informed him of their sons disappearance, and they had seen the pile of his clothes by the fence, it meant only one thing. Bruno was somewhere inside of this horrible place, for reasons that Ralf couldn't even begin to comprehend.

The rain fell in sheets, turning the soil to slushy mud, and going everywhere, but Ralf only had his thoughts on his son. As he ran back and forth between soldiers and prisoners, he didn't see a certain man with blonde hair and cruel blue eyes that watched his every move.

He soon came to an empty hut, Barracks 5B, and gasped. If Bruno was among them, although there was no reason why he should have been, he was going to be murdered, unless Ralf did something fast.

"Please let me be in time," he prayed as he ran through the mud and rain.

"Bruno!" he yelled in utter panic. His face was as white as a cloud; if his son was where he feared he was, he didn't think he could've lived with such guilt for the rest of his life.

Suddenly, he noticed a group of men being pushed into a chamber, and he felt the blood drain from his face. That afternoon, that particular chamber was scheduled for death. Already, as he craned his neck, he could see the storage compartments being opened, and he swallowed nervously. Then he composed himself, and ran towards it as fast as his long legs would allow. Hoping against hope that he would be in time, he shouted "BRUNO!" as loudly as possible. Just as he was beginning to lose hope, he heard the small voice that he had hoped to hear.

"DAD!?" Bruno yelled back, wondering why his father sounded so afraid.

Upon hearing his son's voice, Ralf ran once again shouting "BRUNO!" before turning to the soldier who was beginning to bolt the door closed.

"Stop that, and unbolt the door!" He cried out, in an attempt to stop the other man.

"Herr Kommandant," the man began, but was cut off by Ralf shouting "NOW!" at him.

The man hurried to comply with Ralf's order, and his boss strode in, shoving Jews out of his way to reach his son. Once he had done so, he wrapped his arms, and his coat, around his son in a massive hug, crying with relief.

"Dad? Are you alright?" Bruno asked; he had no idea just how close he'd come to getting killed.

"Bruno, what on earth were you thinking?" His father asked him, but in a kind, loving way.

"I was trying to help my friend Shumel to find his father. Dad, he's so kind, and he'd never hurt me. He's nice." He said, then with a secret smile he added, "That makes me the best explorer in the world."

His father, even though he had no idea by what his son meant by the last comment, could tell by the look in his eyes that the first comment had been said with pure honesty.

"Then your friend is going to come with us," he said warmly, and held out a hand to Shumel, who stared at him in shock.

"It's alright," Ralf told him gently. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to care anymore that the other little boy was a Jewish child. Still in shock, Shumel took his hand, and with a warm smile, Ralf led the two boys through the crowd of Jews, and out of that horrible room.

In a quiet tone, so as not to frighten his son anymore than he already was, he told the soldier to carry on. Once they were out he told Shumel to put his clothes back on, but as he didn't really want Bruno to wear the uniform, so he put him down on the bench, took off his coat. and put it round Bruno. Then he picked him up again and carried him out to his mother who was right outside at this point and gave him to his mother. She took Bruno from her husband and held him so tight everyone thought she would never let go of him ever again.

Then she looked up and spotted Shmuel and he noticed she had tears rolling down her face. Curious, she asked her husband "Who's he?"

Ralf replied, "This is Shumel, Bruno's best friend, and according to Bruno, he's kind and will never hurt him. Quite frankly, I believe him," he added with a warm grin. He then joined his wife and daughter (who was hugging her brother) and Elsa hold out her hand to Shumel and said "Thank you for being there for him when he needed it the most," and pulled him into the hug as well. Shumel didn't say anything; he was too scared to say anything at this point and hadn't known what to do when Elsa pulled him into the hug the family was having.

Then Elsa, after making sure that he is covered properly by his father's coat, picks her son up and carries him home. Ralf had a huge grin on his face because he was happy his baby boy was safe and was thinking 'I will never let him go again and I will always be there for him when he needs it the most' when he realized that Shumel was walking behind everyone looking troubled.

Ralf walked up to him, and asked him what the matter was. Shumel asked him quietly "What about my father?" and Ralf asks him what his father's name was. When Shumel told him, Ralf remembered seeing his father, and said, "I don't know how to tell you this Shumel, but your father died from a disease he caught before he came here. We tried to help him, but we couldn't, and I know he hid it from you because he didn't want to scare you. I'm so sorry." He then knelt in front of the little boy, as Shumel's shoulders were shaking with sobs, and pulled him into a hug.

Ralf picked him up and carried him the rest of the way, and once they got there Ralf noticed Shumel had fallen asleep in his arms. He looked up at his wife and she said "Bruno fell asleep as well; they must be really tired, let's put them to bed in Bruno's room."

With that said they both carried the boys upstairs and into Bruno's room. Ralf put Shumel on the bed that was in the middle of the room while Elsa got Bruno dressed into his pyjamas. She gave some to Ralf to put on Shumel so he wasn't in those dirty pyjamas anymore. Then, once they both were done they went to the door, turned around and Elsa said "Everything will change now." Ralf nodded in agreement and closed the door behind them once they left the two sleeping boys to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruno talks to his parents about the fear of Lieutenant Kotler finding him again.

Chapter Two

After nearly being killed at Auschwitz, Bruno and Shmuel slept for at least five hours in relative comfort. When they finally did wake up, Ralf and Elsa made their children (considering Shmuel to be one already) a cheese and potato dish with beef patties, thinking it unfair if they were to give their children pork, which, of course, by religion, Shmuel couldn't eat.

Shmuel, like every other Jew that had been captured, had been deprived of proper food. So it came as no surprise to anyone that he ate everything on his plate, and cheered up somewhat when it was discovered that Maria had made a chocolate cake for the journey back to Berlin. As the plans for heading back had been put on hiatus, the five of them decided to eat the cake then.

During their meal, Ralf informs them that they were to be heading ready to head back to Berlin first thing the following morning. "You're not going out again, Bruno?" He asks, in a half-joking, half-serious way. With a smile, Bruno shakes his head, and Gretel smiles. Shmuel did his best to look excited, but was failing miserably.  
Ralf, looking up from his slice of cake, spotted the forlorn look on Shmuel's face, and asked him what the matter was.  
"You're going to leave me behind, aren't you?" Shmuel mutters, looking sadly in the direction of Auschwitz.  
"Good heavens, no!" Ralf exclaims, and then said, "God would have my guts for garters if I did that to you."

Shmuel wasn't the only one who was feeling melancholy; Bruno was also hating "Out-With" quite a lot, which wasn't helped by the fact that Lieutenant Kotler still worked there to terrorize the living daylights out of everyone. He was therefore quite pleased to know that they were moving back to Berlin.  
Maria then came in, and asked the children whether or not they would like a wash. She was not surprised to see Shmuel there, as Ralf had already informed her of his arrival.  
The children's reactions were quite different, for whilst Gretel looked pleased at the prospect of a bath or shower, both the boys looked as though they'd rather never wash again, and who could blame them after their close call with death?  
It took all three grownup's some time before they could convince either of the boys that it would be safe, and wouldn't harm them in any way.  
With a sad smile, Bruno said, "Alright then," as he follows the others to the bathroom.  
"I'm worried about Bruno, as he's been rather quiet since we got him out of that horrible place." Elsa said, looking worriedly at her husband.  
"You're not the only one, and we must also make sure that Shmuel feels like he belongs here, as well being comfortable with the changes in his life now that he is no longer an Auschwitz prisoner." Ralf adds, and they agree to sleep on it.

Page Break

After a good night's rest, and a hearty breakfast of fruit and beef patties, they were ready to head back to Berlin. They had hoped that Bruno would have opened up to them about what was troubling him, but he stayed very quiet for the whole ride, not noticing that Lieutenant Kotler had also jumped on the train, heading home in Berlin.  
Once settled down once again, everybody did their best to keep Shmuel's Jewish background from everyone else, and Elsa and Ralf decided to give it a few months before they make a commitment to adopt him. However, they were still hoping against hope that Bruno would tell them what was bothering him.  
One afternoon, Elsa and Ralf walked into the living room to see Gretel patiently teaching Shumel how to read, causing them to smile. But when they spotted Bruno looking fairly miserable, it tore at their hearts, and Ralf made his way over to him.  
"Bruno, please tell us what is wrong, otherwise we can't help you. You and Shmuel get on well, I admit, but you're never as happy as you used to be." He said, putting an arm around Bruno's back.  
Bruno sighed unhappily, and said, "Alright, I'll tell you."

Elsa told Gretel to take Shmuel upstairs so they could talk to Bruno in private. For about five minutes, Bruno sat on the floor, not speaking and then finally said "Dad, did you really know what was going on in that camp?" He felt tears welling up in eyes, but managed to keep them at bay.  
Ralf, somewhat surprised by the question, says "Yes of course I did, Bruno, I did work there, after all."  
Bruno looked up at him, and an angry look crossed his face.

" What happened to Lieutenant Kotler, Dad?" He asked.

"We sent him to the front, of course," Ralf said in surprise. He hadn't expected that question. "Why do you ask?"

"He never left. He stayed behind somehow, and that afternoon, I saw him on my way to that chamber. I screamed at him to help me, but he didn't. Instead, he came over and just started kicking me in the stomach while telling me that I deserved everything I was going to get.." Here, Bruno lifted up his shirt, and his parents gasped. A series of nasty-looking bruises of different colours were displayed on his stomach.

"Oh, my god!" Cried Elsa, clapping her hands to her mouth.

"Also, I'm terrified that he'll find me again. I'm sure that's what he mouthed when we passed him. Then I fell asleep."

Elsa started to cry as she hugged her son tightly, whilst a murderous look crossed over her husbands' face before he did the same. "He won't find you, Bruno, and that's a promise." He said.

Having told his parents what was wrong, Bruno felt as though some enormous weight had been lifted from his shoulders. For the rest of the afternoon, they all played games together, and when Maria announced that she had made a mince pie with flavored potatoes, they had dinner. As it was quite late by this stage, they all went to bed, unaware of the troubles that would soon befall them all.

Page Break

Early the next morning, it was beautiful and sunny, and Elsa, Ralf, and Gretel were planning to take a trip to the city. They now lived on the outskirts of Berlin, and they were relatively happy, despite the bombings that were still exploding every night.

"Boys, we're taking a trip. We'll be out for a couple of hours, would you like to come?"

"Nein, danke," the boys chorused in unison, and Ralf smiled.

"Very well. But if you're staying, don't go outside. It's a lovely day, but we don't want or need anything to happen to either of you," he said firmly. "Also, don't open the door to anyone. We have a key to get back in."

With that, he left without another word.

The two headed downstairs sometime later, and were just thinking about a spot of lunch when all of a sudden, the most incessant knocking came to their ears.

"Perhaps father left his key?" Bruno wondered, and although he had no intentions on opening the door, as soon as he rounded the corner beside the door, he gasped. Standing there, still in the uniform that Bruno had seen on him several times, with a cruel smile on his face was Lieutenant Kotler.

Immediately, Bruno backed away, and Shumel gave him a perplexed look.

Cliffhanger! What's going to happen now, I wonder?


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lieutenant Kotler kidnaps Bruno, and subjects him to an extremely rough time.

Chapter Three

Bruno was terrified. Kotler, the bastard who'd had the gall to hurt Shmuel, and to nearly get him killed, was back. Another incessant knock came to their ears, and Bruno swallowed. The door was the only thing that was keeping him out.

"Run!" Bruno whisper-shouts to his friend, as he saw Kotler take a few steps back from the door, and then gives it a firm enough kick to dislodge the lock.

The boys took to their heels, Schmuel in the lead as they started towards the stairs. However, a nineteen year-old is, of course, faster than an eight year-old, so it didn't take much effort on Kurt's part to firmly grab Bruno and trap him by flinging an arm around his waist and pinning him to his stomach.

"Well, little man, we meet again," he laughed cruelly. Bruno struggled to get away, but the grip on him was too strong.

"Making friends with a Jew? Not very Aryan, is it?" He said coldly. "I told you I was going to find you again, Bruno."

Bruno started to cry quietly, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees Shmuel, looking just as scared.

"Hide upstairs," he mouths. Shmuel does so, and fortunately, Kotler didn't turn around. He was more preoccupied in dragging Bruno outside.

"You'll be staying with me for a while," he says, still holding him firmly. Realising they were outside, Bruno opened his mouth to scream. Seeing this when he turns around, Kotler simply pushed Bruno down, and placed a strip of tape over his mouth before he could. He holds the struggling boy down, and removing the belt on his jacket, ties his wrists together, and then ties his ankles together with some rope from the trunk of his car.

Smiling, he lifts Bruno up and almost throws him in. Bruno let a muffled groan of pain, which Kotler ignored.

"Guten Nacht," he sneers at him, before plunging him into darkness by shutting the lid. He then gets into the front of the car, jumps into the driver's seat, and drives away.

Only five minutes later, the rest of the family arrived home. They headed to the door, and Gretel suddenly screamed. She was pointing at the door, which had the distinct print of a soldier's boot.

"No!" Cries Elsa, as Ralf, feeling the same sinking feeling he had the day that his sons were nearly killed, runs inside, yelling their names.

"Bruno! Shmuel!" Elsa yells, but neither of them get an answer.

"Stay here," Ralf orders his wife and daughter, before running into the boys' room upstairs.

"Hallo?" He calls, and Shmuel, recognising his voice, calls back. "I'm under here." His father leans down, and asks, "Shmuel, where is Bruno?"

Even though he was crying and shaking, Shmuel still managed to reply.

"He...came...and...took...him...Bruno...told...me. ..to...hide...and...I...tried...to...help...him... but...he...wouldn't...let...me!"

"Who took him away?" Ralf asked, although he had a very good idea of who.

"Lieutenant Kotler," was the reply, proving Ralf right. Shmuel had tears streaming down his cheeks by this point.

Ralf, on the other hand, was feeling both angry and guilty at the same time. Angry that Kotler had the gall to take his son away from him, and guilt because he'd promised his son that he'd protect him from said man.

He has my son. Heaven only knows where they are, he thought, before calming down because he remembers that Shmuel is there, and when an adult shows anger, a child gets scared easily.

" Okay Shmuel , we are going to sort this out, but I need you to come out from under there. You need to explain to us exactly what happened okay? No one will hurt you."

Shmuel looks up at Ralf, nodding, and his father helps him up. Although Shmuel wouldn't forget his biological father, he likes his new family. They were keeping him safe, even Bruno was by telling him to hide so Kotler didn't find him. If that wasn't a family, then what was?

"Good lad. Now, let's go downstairs and tell the others," he says, leading him downstairs.

Gretel throws her arms around him, and hugs him, as Elsa enters with a cup of tea. They had given their servants a few days off. When she sees that Bruno isn't among them, she asks, "Where is he?!"

"Lieutenant Kotler has kidnapped him. Lord only knows what horrors he's inflicting on him. If he lets him go now, I may just punch him or something. But if not, I will hunt him down, I will find him, and I will kill him." (Hehe. Classic quote from "Taken." Thought it was appropriate.)

"To think I liked him," said Elsa and Gretel in unison, tears filling their eyes in worry for the safety of their son and brother.

Page Break

Bruno was really scared. He was locked in the trunk of a car, and terrified of the man who'd taken him. He had managed to fall asleep for a bit to the faint sound of another of the Fuhrer's speeches on the car radio, but now he was awake. All he wanted was to go home to his parents and siblings. He thought of his father's promise, and although it wasn't intentional, it had been broken.

He wondered how long they'd been travelling, as well. It must have been a couple of hours, at least. He was still thinking about it when he felt the car stop, and a door slam shut. He swallowed nervously, and began to panic. Daylight hit his face when the trunk opened, and he looked up to see a smirking Kotler.

"Hello, there. Comfortable enough?" He asked. Bruno just stared at him, and shook his head in disbelief. Of course he wasn't comfortable, but he had to hand it to the other that he was excellent at tying knots.

Kotler smiled, held up his hand, and revealed a syringe. Bruno wanted to scream, but the tape still firmly securing his mouth shut, prevented him from doing so. Instead, he began to wiggle around, trying to get away, and Kotler smirked.

"You do realise you won't get far, right?" He chuckled, and after placing the syringe in his coat pocket, he pulled Bruno out and placed him on his feet.

He then quickly reached into the other pocket of his coat, and pulled out a long scarf. Suddenly, Bruno found himself in the dark as the scarf blocked his vision, followed by a sharp, stinging pain in the back of his neck. His head felt fuzzy, but he could make out Kotler words. "This is what you deserve when you double cross me. Don't worry though; you'll be unconscious soon so it won't hurt for long." As Bruno felt himself fall into the world of darkness, he could hear cruel laughter before he was under and heard nothing.

When he finally came around, he felt so cold like someone had thrown him in cold water. He shivered, which wasn't easy. He looked around and noticed he was in some kind of cellar, which explained why he was freezing. Also, he quickly worked out that Kotler had tied him down to a metal table with gaps for rope to go through which held down. There was no scarf covering his eyes, and the pain in his neck had gone. He did, however, have tape over his mouth, and his arms and legs were still tied with rope. He tried to free himself, but to no avail. Kotler was really good at tying knots.

The big, heavy, black door at the entrance to the room was unbolted, and in walked Kotler, a smile on his face that most people would have called charming, if he wasn't about to put them in a great big world of pain and suffering. In his hand was a knife which shone threatingly under the fluorescent bulb in the room.

"Well, well. I was wondering when you were going to join me again," he said, striding over to him. Bruno swallowed, his blue eyes staring into chips of crystal ice, hoping to find a kind expression in them, or that Kotler was going to let him go.

"I was wondering when you were going to join me," he said again. "Because I'm going to do something to you that is going to make my day."

Bruno swallowed again, hoping that the knife in the man's hand didn't have something to do with his plan. However, when cold hands lifted up his shirt, and the knife was placed on his stomach, he knew that it did. Hopefully, he wouldn't die before he got to see his family one last time, though.

Kotler ripped the tape off Bruno's mouth and Bruno winced, trying to not make a sound.

As he lifted the knife though, Bruno panicked. "Please don't do this to m...me. I swear I w...won't tell anyone if you let me go." He was amazed by how strong he sounded, only stuttering twice. Even Kotler was impressed, but he just scoffed. "Now, why should I do that, hmm?"

Bruno came up with an answer which was complete rubbish, but might make the other let him go. "Because you're a good man, and you don't hurt Aryan children."

"There are exceptions to that rule, and you're one of them," he sneered back. "Anyway, if I didn't do this, it would take away my fun." So saying, he ran the knife along Bruno's stomach, and it was so sharp that even a light drag left thin lines of blood behind. But he wasn't lightly dragging it across, he was carving letters into his stomach. Bruno screamed a heart-wrenching scream. Kotler whistled happily to himself as he carved what Bruno soon recognised as "Das haben Sie sich verdient," or, in English, "You deserve this," although the actual translation was "That's what you've earned."

When he finally stopped, Bruno let loose another scream, and started to cry in excruciating pain. Quickly, Kotler slapped a hand over his mouth when he heard a sharp knock on the door. Bruno tried to scream again for help, but the other was faster and slapped another piece of tape over his mouth.

"Shut up, or else," he warned, before hurrying to open the door. It was one of his neighbours, who wanted to know what the hell was going on.

He smiled. "Don't worry. I've just got a new dog. I'm training him."

"I see, though that's pretty rough, Kotler. Nobody else treats a dog like that. Can I see him?"

"Certainly not. That was me screaming, 'cause he bit my wrist," he said, holding one hand behind his back. "He'd probably do something even worse to you. Auf Wiedersehn," he added, closing the door.

He then ran back into the room where Bruno was, went up to him, and slapped him around the face. "You nearly got us caught by that stupid neighbour, you little brat," he seethed. Bruno's face was losing colour due to the amount of blood he'd already lost, and he was losing consciousness.

Kotler smiled, and for the first time ever since he'd taken Bruno away, he was almost kind.

"Don't fight it, Bruno. Just give in. It's not deep enough to kill you," he said in a tone that was almost gentle. He then placed a chloriform-soaked rag under the boy's nose, and before long, he was back under the cloak of darkness.

It was around a half day later that Bruno came around again. The memory of the night before came flooding back, and he noticed that the tape was no longer covering his mouth. He was about to scream for help, but then realised that Kotler would hear him, and probably make sure that he never saw his family again. At least, not this side of Heaven. So, he closed his mouth again, and looked down. His white shirt was stained red with blood, and sharp pain surrounded him. It even hurt to breathe, because the letters were carved in deep.

The door opens again, and Kotler strides in. Bruno looks at him fearfully, as he gets untied, and he says, "This is where my life gets better." He drags him down the hallway, and into another room that has a chain dangling from the ceiling in the center of it.

Kotler pulls it down, opens the shackle part and fits it around Bruno's neck. It was quite uncomfortable to wear, because it was nearly strangling him. The lieutenant then pulls on the chain again, leaving the young boy's legs to dangle above the floor. Smiling, he pulls out yet another syringe, and injects the fluid into Bruno's neck, again. However, this one didn't make him pass out, it just made his head fuzzy.

"Auf Wiedersehn, Bruno," he said, before leaving the room.

Bruno dangled in the air, his neck hurting like hell, and so did his stomach. His head was threating to split, and he was very very scared.

"Someone, please help me." He whispered into the cold room, before falling back into the world of darkness. Around two hours later, he woke up to hear a massive bang. He tried to work out what was going on, but that was almost impossible, because his head was all over the place. The massive headache hadn't lessened at all.

He heard loud noises, and wailing sirens, and although he wasn't sure, he thought he heard Kotler scream. Footsteps thundered towards the door, and it was flung open. Bruno thought he must have been dreaming, for surely that couldn't be his father coming into view.

"Dad?" He asks, hardly daring to hope.

"Bruno, my son, what has that monster done to you?" he asks, just as another man walked in, smelling of fresh bread. It was the father of one of his former Best Friends For Life, but try as he might, Bruno couldn't remember his name.

The other man holds up a key and unlocks the shackle from around the boy's neck.

"Better?" he asks gently.

Bruno nods, and then his father gently holds him in his arms.

"Bruno, I'm sorry. I will somehow make this up to you, I promise," Ralf says.

"Dad, d..don't make p..promises y...you can't k...keep," Bruno says, before passing out in his dad's arms. Sadly smiling, Ralf carries him out to the ambulance that was waiting outside.

well there you have it chapter 4 hope you like it as much as the others and i would like to thank my friend charlotte once again so anyway hope you enjoyed it


End file.
